VZCZCXYZ0007
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTV #0426/01 0521231
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211231Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5517
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/WHITE HOUSE NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHQA/HQ USAF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEADWD/DA WASHDC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/CNO WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI PRIORITY 3437
RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS PRIORITY 0090
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN PRIORITY 3671
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA PRIORITY 4199
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT PRIORITY 3457
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 1648
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS PRIORITY 4202
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1042
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1517
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT PRIORITY 8072
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME PRIORITY 5550
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 0463
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS PRIORITY 4584
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 6535
RUEHJM/AMCONSUL JERUSALEM PRIORITY 9118
RHMFISS/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMSIXTHFLT  PRIORITY

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000426 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA, NEA/IPA, NEA/PPD 
 
WHITE HOUSE FOR PRESS OFFICE, SIT ROOM 
NSC FOR NEA STAFF 
 
SECDEF WASHDC FOR USDP/ASD-PA/ASD-ISA 
HQ USAF FOR XOXX 
DA WASHDC FOR SASA 
JOINT STAFF WASHDC FOR PA 
CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL FOR POLAD/USIA ADVISOR 
COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE FOR PAO/POLAD 
COMSIXTHFLT FOR 019 
 
JERUSALEM ALSO ICD 
LONDON ALSO FOR HKANONA AND POL 
PARIS ALSO FOR POL 
ROME FOR MFO 
 
SIPDIS 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC KMDR IS
 
SUBJECT: ISRAEL MEDIA REACTION 
 
 
-------------------------------- 
SUBJECTS COVERED IN THIS REPORT: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶1.  Mideast 
 
¶2.  Iran 
 
¶3.  U.S.-Israel Relations 
 
------------------------- 
Key stories in the media: 
------------------------- 
 
Major media reported that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon promised 
on Wednesday to respond "firmly" to Iranian President Mahmoud 
Ahmadinejad's verbal attacks on Israel, which he called 
"intolerable."  Ban made the promise in a meeting with Israel's 
Ambassador to the UN Dan Gillerman, who requested the meeting with 
the UN chief following remarks made by Ahmadinejad on Wednesday. 
Ahmadinejad's remarks were broadcast on Iranian Television, in which 
he called Israel a "filthy germ" and "savage beast" established by 
Western states in their bid to dominate the Middle East.  The 
comments came just days after Ali Jafari, the top commander of 
Iran's Revolutionary Guards, called Israel a "cancerous germ" which 
would be wiped out by Hizbullah, Army Radio reported.  Jafari made 
the comment in a letter to Hizbullah leadQ Hassan Nasrallah, 
offering condolences after the killing of terrorist mastermind Imad 
Mughniyah, which Iran has blamed on Israel.  Earlier this week IDF 
Radio reported that the Foreign Ministry sent a letter of protest to 
the UN over Jafari's remarks.  Also this week, the Iranian news 
agency ISNA quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as 
saying that even after 60 years, Israel still has neither legitimacy 
nor any role in the Middle East.  The media also reported that on 
Wednesday Iran urged the UN Security Council to condemn Israel and 
demand that it immediately stop threatening to use military force 
against the country's nuclear program. 
 
All media reported that on Wednesday Mohammad Mohaddessin, a 
representative of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of 
Iran, claimed that Tehran has accelerated its alleged nuclear 
weapons program, including the production of nuclear warheads.  He 
claimed that, for the first time, Tehran had established a command 
and control center to work on a nuclear weapon and that it was also 
setting up a center southeast of Tehran to produce warheads. 
 
Yediot reported that Israel has identified five additional 
terrorists as possible successors of slain radical Imad Mughniyah. 
Yediot cited the belief of senior Israeli defense sources that one 
of them is planning the terrorist attack that would avenge 
Mughniyah's death. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that Ran Koriel, Israel's ambassador to the EU, 
recently warned the Foreign Ministry of a change in EU policy on 
Hamas, amid mounting international pressure on Israel over its 
handling of the situation in the Gaza Strip.  The government has 
recently been getting strong signals that both the U.S. and Europe 
are deeply frustrated by lack of progress in negotiations with the 
Palestinians.  Ha'aretz recalled that envoys of the Quartet convened 
in Berlin on February 11 to discuss the situation in the Gaza Strip 
and the peace process between Israel and the PA.  The newspaper 
quoted Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, who joined the 
criticism of Israel's conduct in the Gaza Strip, as saying at the 
meeting that the U.S. was not comfortable with Israel's approach to 
Gaza.  "First, we must not allow the suicide bombing in Dimona and 
shooting on Sderot to affect the negotiations," he was quoted as 
saying, adding that "It is also important to us that neither the 
Palestinians in Gaza nor the Israelis in Sderot are hurt.  Also, we 
must continue to strengthen Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad."  Welch 
added that the Quartet must demand that Israel open the border 
passes with the Gaza Strip.  Ha'aretz said that the EU's Special 
Representative to the Middle East Peace Process, Marc Otte, was more 
severe toward Israel than Welch. 
 
Leading media reported that on Wednesday PA President Mahmoud Abbas 
dismissed a call by his advisor Yasser Abed Rabbo for a unilateral 
declaration of statehood if negotiations fail.  The Jerusalem Post 
reported that Israeli officials rejected out of hand any idea of a 
unilateral declaration of statehood by the Palestinians.  Media 
quoted State Department Spokesman Sean McCormack as saying that 
unlike Kosovo, the Palestinians were still involved in peace 
negotiations. 
 
Leading media quoted IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as saying on 
Wednesday that he could not rule out the possibility of Israel 
facing a military conflict in the near future.  He was talking 
during an officers' training course graduation ceremony.  Israel 
Radio cited the London-based Al-Hayat as saying that Defense 
Minister Ehud Barak has conveyed to Syria a message through Turkey 
that Israel may intensify its fighting against Hamas and Hizbullah. 
The Jerusalem Post cited Al-Hayat as saying that Egypt warned Israel 
this week against carrying out an intensive military campaign in 
Gaza, saying that such an operation would likely lead to a high 
number of civilian casualties. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that American victims of terrorist actions fear 
that the State Department may recommend a halt to massive fines 
levied against the PA on related charges. 
 
Maariv cited the defense establishment's concern that 500,000 more 
Israelis might be targeted by Palestinian rocket fire from Gaza. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that over the past week the Foreign Ministry has 
tried to convince countries from around the world that the 
diplomatic process is moving forward. 
 
The Jerusalem Post and Ha'aretz quoted Saudi FM Prince Saud 
al-Faisal as saying on Wednesday at the opening of a meeting in 
Buenos Aires between leaders of Arab and Latin American countries: 
"The lack of a positive response from Israel to Saudi Arabia's 
Middle East peace initiative is likely to lead to Arab states 
reevaluating their positions."  The FM added: "We hope that Israel 
will respond positively to our efforts in order to avoid despair 
which will force us to reassess our options."  Citing the Jewish 
Telegraphic Agency, The Jerusalem Post reported that Secretary of 
State Condoleezza Rice has written to Congress that a planned arms 
sale to Saudi Arabia will not harm Israel's military superiority in 
the region. 
 
Ha'aretz cited a Peace Now report according to which 94% of 
Palestinian requests to build in the West Bank's "Area C," which is 
under full Israeli control, were rejected between 2000 and 2007. 
 
Yediot reported that PM Ehud Olmert will focus during his visit to 
Japan next week on North Korea's involvement in Iran and Syria's 
nuclear program, and on tightening bilateral economic ties. 
 
Ha'aretz reported that a PA commission of inquiry found that Fatah's 
military echelon was responsible for the PA's failure in Gaza. 
 
Yediot reported that on Wednesday the American companies Northrop 
Grumman Corporation and Oshkosh Corporation selected the Israeli 
firm Plasan-Sasa, a leading developer and manufacturer of add-on 
armor systems for the military and commercial market, to assist with 
the design and engineering of the armor for the Joint Light Tactical 
Vehicle (JLTV) program. 
 
Yediot reported that Standard and Poor's (S&P), a division of 
McGraw-Hill and the world's leading ratings company, and the new 
Israeli economic newspaper Calcalist have signed an exclusive 
cooperation agreement according to which Calcalist will reprint 
selected S&P publications. 
 
The Jerusalem Post, Maariv, and other media reported that a 
reference to Israel was removed from an on-line poll to select the 
cities to be featured in the international version of the popular 
Monopoly board game.  From Tuesday until Wednesday afternoon, 
Jerusalem was the only city to be listed without a location.  Unlike 
Paris, France; Montreal, Canada; and Riga, Latvia; Jerusalem stood 
on its own as a city with no homeland.   However, following 
complaints, all country names were removed from the list on 
Wednesday.  The Israeli Consulate expressed satisfaction with 
Hasbro's decision to remove all country references, and even took 
credit for the change.   According to a Hasbro Company spokesman, 
Wayne Charness, Israel was originally removed from the list by a 
mid-level employee following a slew of e-mails from angry 
Palestinians, when no one in upper management was there to handle 
the situation. 
 
Maariv quoted associates of former defense minister Amir Peretz as 
saying that PM Olmert has offered him a social portfolio in his 
government.  The newspaper cited Olmert's bureau as saying that the 
issue was raised between the two, but that it has not reached a 
practical stage. 
 
Leading media reported that the low Consumer Price Index in the U.S. 
has resulted in negative indices on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. 
 
Ha'aretz cited the results of a Haifa University poll released on 
Wednesday according to which 75 percent of Israeli Arabs between the 
ages of 16 and 22 support voluntary national service. 
 
------------ 
¶1.  Mideast: 
------------ 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "According to the American scenario, what is 
first required is complete Israeli readiness for a military 
operation [in Gaza], and also for political allowances.... What [the 
United States] really wants is the forceful takeover of the 
territory by a bolstered Palestinian Authority." 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Jacky Hoogie wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv: "Mughniyah's removal caused damage to Hizbullah's 
morale and hurt it emotionally, but does not have the ability to 
paralyze an organization such as this, which is based on broad 
civilian support." 
 
The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized: "[A 
proclamation of Palestinian statehood] would be the result of the 
reckless diplomatic process launched by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert 
at Annapolis." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
¶I.  "America Wants an Operation in Gaza" 
 
Washington correspondent Shmuel Rosner wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/21): "The Americans know that change must 
occur in the Gaza Strip.  'The status quo there, I think, cannot 
hold,' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told a congressional 
hearing last week.  According to the American scenario, what is 
first required is complete Israeli readiness for a military 
operation, and also for political allowances.... However, the 
Americans will require assurances, more so than in the past, that 
this will not be an operation that will commence with a promise only 
to end with an investigation.  Like Kissinger said, it undermines 
American interests.  The Bush administration is wary of yet another 
victory by the extremists; it has never had faith in the ability of 
the international community to prevent such victory.  Only the most 
naive among the senior administration officials still toy with the 
idea of a multinational force that will take over in the Gaza Strip. 
 The lessons from Lebanon have also been learned on this.  What they 
really want is the forceful takeover of the territory by a bolstered 
Palestinian Authority." 
 
II.  "Damage to Morale, No More" 
 
Arab affairs correspondent Jacky Hoogie wrote in the popular, 
pluralist Maariv (2/21): "To paraphrase David Ben-GurionQs 
expression, it doesn't matter how much the Jews deny, the main thing 
is what Nasrallah sayQA week after [arch-terrorist Imad] 
Mughniyah's death, Hizbullah is making no effort to conceal the 
magnitude of the loss.... We mistakenly tend to identify the 
disappearance of a figure with the elimination of his organization. 
There are several truths about Hizbullah that are more important 
than Nasrallah's declarations.... [Hizbullah] is a state within a 
state, whose ears are attentive to the distress of the weak, and the 
level of corruption in its ranks is close to zero.  It is no wonder, 
then, that it has admirers among the Christian community as well. 
Mughniyah's removal caused damage to Hizbullah's morale and hurt it 
emotionally, but does not have the ability to paralyze an 
organization such as this, which is based on broad civilian support 
-- certainly not to dry up its ideology.  It would have been naive 
to believe that a military operation could crush the movement.... It 
would be even more naove to think that the Shi'ite community would 
rise against Nasrallah and rebel against the hand that feeds it. 
The Shiites will not do this at normal times, and certainly not in 
the service of a state that sent its planes to sow destruction in 
its towns.  Israel is compelled to accept the existence of hostile 
relations with its radical neighbors to the north, and to search for 
more sophisticated ways of crushing them." 
 
III.  "Annex Area C" 
 
The nationalist, Orthodox Makor Rishon-Hatzofe editorialized (2/21): 
"One of the immediate consequences of Kosovo's declaration of 
independence was an announcement by [senior Palestinian official] 
Yasser Abed Rabbo that if no progress is made in the 
Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, the Palestinian Authority will 
unilaterally proclaim Palestinian statehood.  Such an announcement 
would not only be inspired by the Kosovars.  It would be the result 
of the reckless diplomatic process launched by Prime Minister Ehud 
Olmert at Annapolis.... Regardless, Israel may have to carry out a 
move: Legislation fully annexing Area C [those parts of the West 
Bank under full Israeli control]." 
 
--------- 
¶2.  Iran: 
--------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized: "The 
silence from the nations of the world in the face of [Iran's] 
blatant endorsement of terror and incitement to genocide is 
deafening, giving the lie to oceans of pious rhetoric." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"Condoning Genocide" 
 
The conservative, independent Jerusalem Post editorialized (2/21): 
"The silence from the nations of the world in the face of this 
blatant endorsement of terror and incitement to genocide is 
deafening, giving the lie to oceans of pious rhetoric.... Iran 
openly backs Hizbullah, openly hosts Hamas leaders and openly calls 
for Israel's destruction.  Nor are these genocidal intentions 'only' 
rhetorical.  They are already being carried out in practice, in the 
form of daily missile attacks and other terrorist acts, ongoing 
weapons buildups and -- topping it all off -- through Iran's race to 
full nuclear weapons capability.  The stunning global silence in the 
face of incitement to and preparation for genocide testifies to a 
belief that all this is 'just' Israel's problem -- as if an 
existential threat to one small state is not of sufficient 
concern.... Which leaders and nations will speak out and act - not 
only in Israel's defense but in their own?" 
 
 
 
 
 
-------------------------- 
¶3.  U.S.-Israel Relations: 
-------------------------- 
 
Summary: 
-------- 
 
Liberal columnist Avirama Golan wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz: "The longing for change [in the U.S.], which 
seeks to violate the old order ... and to create a new 
administration, ought to interest Israel -- because of the adulation 
for the American ethos that our culture and society blindly 
imitate." 
 
Block Quotes: 
------------- 
 
"An American Change, Perhaps" 
 
Liberal columnist Avirama Golan wrote in the independent, 
left-leaning Ha'aretz (2/21): "The longing for change, which seeks 
to violate the old order, defy the connection between capital, 
power, religion, and government and to create a new administration, 
ought to interest Israel -- because of the adulation for the 
American ethos that our culture and society blindly imitate.  The 
Americans are fed up with their old browbeating, in its 
neoconservative incarnation.  In Israel it remains a hit.  Maybe 
change will happen in the U.S. and maybe not.  It is possible that 
Obama's inexperience, skin color, and origin will work against him, 
and that the longing for change will wind up being exploited by the 
conservative right.  Such things have happened before.  But in the 
meantime the need for a new order is coalescing into a fascinating 
cultural-political expression.  If we are such fine mimics, then 
perhaps we can at least watch and learn something." 
 
JONES